Healing Hands
by Eternal Headache
Summary: When Nathan is seriously injured, it falls to Ezra to save the healer's life


All right, so I think I'm finally tapped out. At least, I hope I am! My main bunny is getting downright hostile! (Looks around suspiciously for more rabid bunnies, then tiptoes away…)

Title: Healing Hands  
Category: Gen  
Universe: OW  
Main Characters: Ezra, Nathan, JD  
Rating/Warning: Not beta'd, minor language  
Summary: When Nathan is seriously injured, it falls to Ezra to save the healer's life.

Healing Hands

Ezra Standish was in one hell of a fine mood. And why shouldn't he have been? He was currently one of three lawmen in town, the other two being JD Dunne and Nathan Jackson, both of whom had seen fit to leave him to his own devices. His own devices being raking in the money hand over fist at the game tables. The other four of their number were off on a prison transport and were expected back any day now, and Ezra was taking advantage of the lack of annoyances.

A wide grin lit up his features as he counted the day's current take. Nearly two hundred dollars and it wasn't even mid afternoon yet! 'The others should go away more often,' he thought as he tucked his winnings away and settled in to wait for the next slob willing to donate their hard earned cash to the 'Ezra Standish Saloon Fund.'

His smile faded a little as he watched JD Dunne burst into the saloon, worried gaze quickly seeking Ezra out. 'There is no problem. Everything is just fine and dandy. Mr. Dunne tends to get exited over nothing. This day will continue the trend of the last several and will not allow anything bad to happen,' he thought, stomping down on his apprehension as the young man hurried toward him.

"Ezra!" the kid exclaimed in low tones. "We got a problem."

"Please tell me, Mr. Dunne, that said problem is nothing worse than a shortage of whiskey." No, wait...a whiskey shortage *would* be quite the dilemma...

JD shook his head, shooting a nervous glance out the window. "There's some guys fixing to rob the bank!" he hissed.

Ezra sighed and hung his head. "How many?" he asked in resignation.

"Only four, thank God, but they look pretty mean. Nathan's already hiding himself so we can ambush them when the come out."

Sighing again, Ezra got to his feet and the pair hurried out to take up positions. Hopefully, with only four cretins robbing the bank, this wouldn't take long and he'd be able to get back to his fine day.

He really should have known better.

While he *did* get his wish that the fight would go quickly, ending in the deaths of all four outlaws, he *really* should have known that any day that contained a bank robbery was going to go to Hell fast, no matter how good it had started out.

"EZRAAAA!"

He was kneeling down and going through the body of one of the miscreants with a disgusted grimace when JD's terrified voice screamed his name. He jumped up, gun drawn, looking around frantically for the source of what had the boy so scared. He spotted the youngest member of their group some distance away by the mouth of an alley, leaning over someone. One of the other outlaws? Hurrying toward the boy to investigate, he called out, "Really now, Mr. Dunne, what..."

He trailed off when he got close enough to see who JD was leaning over. Oh dear God...

"Nathan!" he exclaimed, dropping down on the other side of the group healer. The healer who was not moving and was losing a lot of blood from the look of the ground and JD.

JD looked up at Ezra as he desperately applied pressure to the area that was spilling precious, anguished tears spilling down his cheeks. "Ezra!" he exclaimed. "I thought he was fine! He...he looked okay, just a little...a little confused and then...then he just..."

"JD!" Ezra spoke sharply, needing the kid to focus so that they could help Nathan. "Have you checked for an exit wound yet?"

JD shook his head frantically and, at a sharp motion from Ezra, adjusted his position so that they could check to see if the bullet was still in their friend. It was.

Damn.

The bullet had gone in low on Nathan's right side. Probably nicked something too from the amount of blood flowing out.

"Ezra."

He looked up into JD's frightened and yet knowing eyes. "You gotta get the bullet out," the boy continued quietly and Ezra's eyes widened. "What?"

"You gotta get the bullet out!" JD repeated. "I ain't never done anything like that before! You *must* have some experience!"

True. Ezra *did* have some experience in removing bullets but those were usually shoulder wounds or areas in the arm where such a procedure wasn't too difficult. He had never attempted to remove a bullet anywhere else! He could easily kill Nathan!

"He'll definitely die if you don't!"

Ezra blinked. He must have said out loud without realizing it. He swallowed hard as JD added, "Nathan takes the same risk every time he digs out a bullet from one of us! Please, Ezra! You gotta try!"

"Ezra."

Both men looked up to find Mary Travis standing over them, two men with a stretcher standing behind her. "JD and I will help you, Ezra," she said softly, blue eyes boring into his, lending him her strength and will.

Ezra swallowed hard and looked back at Nathan, laying so still, his life leaking out onto the dusty ground. He remembered all the times Nathan had helped him...had saved him. And now, it seemed, the debt was being called.

Goddamn.

He nodded, and while JD raced off to the clinic to get everything ready, he and his volunteers got Nathan on the stretcher and hurried after the boy.

All too soon, Nathan was laid out on the bed, stripped of all unnecessary clothing, and Ezra was holding the tools they had all watched Nathan masterfully use countless times. He stared at the bloody hole in Nathan's body, the bullet seeming to mock him from within where it had lodged itself...daring him to come for it before it could finish off what it had started...

"Ezra."

He jumped at the soft voice and looked up at Mary, who nodded at him encouragingly. "We're right here," she whispered. "We'll help if you need it." Swallowing hard, Ezra nodded, then leaned in and went to work.

Thankfully...mercifully, Nathan didn't do much more than moan softly every now and then as Ezra dug around in his body, searching for the elusive, mocking bullet. JD kept the light source steady for him and Mary alternated between wiping sweat from his brow and attempting to clear the area of all the blood that kept seeping out and making things more difficult.

An eternity passed and Ezra was growing more and more certain that he had been killed in that gunfight and that he was currently in Hell, operating on a friend who was likely going to die.

Dear Lord how did Nathan do it?

Then, quite suddenly, he found it! He found the little mocking bastard and pulled it from Nathan's body, dropping it onto the little plate Mary produced.

"You did it."

He looked up with wide, disbelieving eyes, meeting JD's shining brown orbs and then Mary's. She smiled at him, then put a hand on his arm and said softly, "Not done, yet, Ezra," keeping him from falling apart like he so desperately wanted to. Nodding, he swallowed and turned his attention to first cleaning the wound with the help of his 'nurses' and then stitching the wound. After that, they cleaned up, got everything nice and neat and tidy and then...

Then Ezra promptly threw up.

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JD was exhausted and anxious. Two days had passed since Nathan had been shot. Ezra and Mrs. Travis were keeping a constant vigil over him, especially since the healer had developed a fever, leaving JD to handle everything else. It really wasn't a problem.

Best everyone do what they were able and, seriously, JD was no good at playing doctor. He was deeply impressed with Ezra in that regard. It seemed as though the man had a bit of healers hand in him that the rest of them weren't aware of. Thank the good Lord for that.

JD had just emerged from the jail when he looked up the street and felt his heart jump for joy. There, coming down the street, were the rest of the peacekeepers. As they reined in their mounts, JD pulled off his hat and ran an agitated hand through his black hair. "Man, am I glad to see you guys!"

Glances were exchanged among the four men as they got a look at JD, then Chris said, "Everything okay, kid?"

"Hell, no!" JD exclaimed. "Four guys tried to rob the bank two days ago and Nathan got shot and, oh God there was so much blood! And Ezra had to take the bullet out and...and..." JD rambled, tears starting to gather and slip down his cheeks as the last couple of days started to catch up with him.

"JD!" Chris said as Buck quickly dismounted and went to his young friend. As JD's mouth snapped shut and his wide eyes fixed themselves on Chris, the gunslinger softened his voice and asked, "Is Nate all right?"

JD took a long, shaky breath, wiping his exhausted eyes as he said, "He's alive. Got a fever, though. Ezra and Mrs. Travis have hardly left his side the last two days. I've been looking after everything else while they've looked after Nathan."

Chris nodded. "Okay, JD. You done real good, son. Now I want you to go get some sleep, you look completely wiped out. We'll handle things from here."

JD started to protest, but Buck's arm around his shoulders and the lightness in his head silenced him and he just nodded and let Buck guide him away.

Wanting to check on Nathan, the remaining three left their horses at the Livery in Tiny's care, then hurried on to the clinic. They arrived to find Ezra sound asleep in one of the chairs next to the bed that contained Nathan, and Mary moving quietly around the little clinic. Her tired eyes lit up when she saw them and with a soft exclamation of, "Chris!" and a quick look at Ezra, she moved to the doorway to speak with Chris and Vin while Josiah quickly claimed the second chair and carefully looked his friend over.

"Mary," Chris greeted softly. "JD told us what happened. How's he doing?"

"As well as can be expected," Mary replied. "He has a fever but I think it's under control. "Ezra has been...simply amazing. He's hardly left Nathan's side all this time, even when I've tried to get him to go get some proper rest. He's been very determined to keep Nathan with us."

Vin grinned widely. "Gotta admit, when he takes up a challenge he does it proper like."

Their attention was drawn back into the room as the object of their conversation suddenly jerked awake, bleary eyes snapping to Nathan. "Easy brother," Josiah spoke gently, causing Ezra to blink owlishly at him as if not quite certain the older man was actually there. Josiah smile and said, "Yes, it's us."

Ezra looked over at Chris and Vin, then asked, "When did you get back?"

"Few minutes ago," Chris answered moving over to the gambler and lightly squeezing the man's shoulder. "Come on with me, Ezra. Josiah will watch over Nathan for a while."

"Huh?" Ezra looked up at Chris, blinking in confusion. "Where are we going?"

"To the saloon for a quick talk, then you're going to get some proper sleep in a proper bed," Chris answered as he gently pulled Ezra to his feet and guided him out of the clinic.

A few minutes later, the trio, joined by Buck were seated at a back table in the saloon with a whisky bottle and four glasses. Chris silently poured them all shots, pushing Ezra's into his hand and watching as the gambler automatically downed the burning liquor. Chris poured him another shot, then said quietly, "What happened the other day, Ezra?"

Ezra blinked as he stared at the whiskey, the memories running rampant through his mind. "I...I was having such a wonderful day," he murmured. A little smile crossed his lips. "Had been having a few wonderful days at the tables. Added quite a bit of savings to my saloon fund." The smile faded. "And then Mr. Dunne came in and informed me that there was about to be a robbery." He downed the liquid and Chris poured another.

"There were only four of them. The fight didn't last long. I had thought all was well when...when I heard JD screaming my name. There was...there was such fear in his voice. When I got to him, I found that Nathan had fallen victim to someone's bullet. He was so still and there was so much blood, I thought..."

He trailed off, body visibly trembling as he downed the newest shot. "I had to remove the bullet," he continued in a whisper. "God help me, I had to or he would have died for certain." He looked up, tear filled eyes locking onto Chris' as if searching for understanding. "I have never been so terrified in all my life."

Chris nodded and stood, helping Ezra to his feet and guiding him to the stairs. A quick glance at the others told them to stay put as he murmured softly, "Let's get you to bed, pard." Once in Ezra's room, Chris got him stripped down and into bed. Leaning in closer to the exhausted man, he said, "You did good, Ezra. I'm real proud of you right now."

Ezra looked up at Chris through half closed lids and managed a tiny smile before his eyes shut and he slipped into sleep. Chris patted the younger man's shoulder, then quietly left the room to let him get some much needed rest.

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Josiah had been sitting with Nathan for a few hours now, alternating between quietly praying and tending his injured friend. Vin had just left to fetch dinner after having come by to give Ezra's account of what had happened, mentioning how shook up the man had been and that he might be needing a bit of Josiah's guidance later on. Josiah was still amazed by it all. He had examined Nathan's wound upon changing the bandages and it was a pure miracle that Ezra had managed to accomplish the feat that he had. It seemed the gambler was just full of surprises.

Sensing eyes on him, the ex-preacher looked up, and a wide smile lit up his face when he found Nathan watching him. "Easy, Nate," he murmured softly as he quickly filled a mug with water and helped the healer take a few sips.

"Wa...happened?"

"Well, from what I was told, the bank was robbed and you got in the way of a bullet," Josiah answered, carefully feeling Nathan's forehead, pleased when he found that the fever seemed to have broken.

Nathan's dark eyes clearly showed his struggle to remember. "O...others?" he asked.

"They're fine. You gave 'em quite a scare, though."

Nathan's gaze found the wrappings covering the wound and he frowned, looking up at Josiah. "Who..."

Josiah smiled. "Ezra. Apparently, that boy's hands can heal as well as manipulate the cards. Didn't leave your side from what I hear." Seeing the surprise in the other man's gaze and anticipating the next question, Josiah added, "Chris sent him to bed a few hours ago. JD too. Both of 'em were bout dead on their feet." He reached out and gently squeezed Nathan's shoulder. "Go to sleep, brother. I expect Ezra will be back in the morning. You can talk to him then."

Nathan's eyes were already drifting shut, abused body begging for sleep. He only managed a little nod before sleep claimed him and Josiah smiled, sending up a silent prayer of thanks that his friend was still with them.

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It was mid morning when Ezra slipped back into the clinic and paused in surprise when he found two pairs of eyes on him. A pleased smile lit up his face. "Well, good morning, Nathan," he said as he moved closer and took the other empty chair. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I been shot," Nathan replied, voice still quiet and weak but his eyes held a strength that Ezra was immensely glad to see. It was something he had missed these last few days...something he was afraid he wouldn't see again.

"I'll give you two a moment," Josiah murmured as he stood and quietly left the room.

Nathan swallowed and Ezra quickly helped him drink some water. Nathan smiled his thanks, then said, "Hear I have you to thank...for getting the bullet out. Saved my life."

Ezra shook his head and smiled, eyes betraying the emotion he was attempting to mask. "Thanks is not needed, my friend. I owe you many debts. Consider this one of many needed paybacks."

Nathan reached out and grabbed Ezra's hand in a surprisingly strong grip, eyes locking onto Ezra's. "Those don't matter none," he breathed. "All those times you and the others got hurt and needed me...I ain't never expected payback. Just wanted ya'll to keep on living."

He paused to get his breath, then continued. "I know you and I didn't get on well at first. But I do care for ya, and consider you one of my closest friends...my family. That's what you and the others have become. So, thank you, Ezra. Thank you for making it possible for me to say with my family. For however much longer we have left."

Ezra blinked, no longer able to mask the emotion surging through him. He smiled and squeezed Nathan's hand, letting the other man see everything. "You're quite welcome, Nathan," he murmured back. "I have come to consider you family as well. Family that I am very proud of."

They smiled at each other, sharing a moment of companionable silence before Ezra cleared his throat and said, "Now then, you'd best be getting more rest. Young JD has been chomping at the bit to come see you and you're going to want to be well rested for *that* visit."

Nathan laughed softly and nodded, squeezing Ezra's hand again before letting him go. Ezra put a hand on Nathan's shoulder and said, "I'll be back later on. Perhaps we could share dinner?"

Nathan nodded. "I'd like that."

Ezra smiled and tipped his hat. "Until then, my friend. Until then."

END


End file.
